John 15, Week 4

Week 4 - The Counselor of Truth Will Testify

John 15:26-27

John 14:15-21

Questions:

What, in your opinion, is the greatest testimony of the work of the Holy Spirit?

Look up the Greek word for Comforter in v. 26, parakletos, and list from the definition a number of nouns descriptive of the Holy Spirit.

An interesting question from J. I. Packer in Knowing God [paraphrased]: Do we realize what we are missing when we give so much thought and care to Christ and so little to the Holy Spirit? We fully understand that without the Incarnation and the Cross there would be no Savior, but do we fully understand our condition if there were no Holy Spirit?

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Jesus said some extremely important words to his disciples this Passover night. Yet the events that followed in the next few days would send them into turmoil. Jesus would not be there to comfort them and calm their fears. In Ch. 14 He says the Holy Spirit will “bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” [26]. How comforting it is to us that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has given us through the written Word a description of that night and the words He wanted them to remember.

Specifically this night He is telling the remaining eleven that this Comforter will enable them later to testify about Him because they have been with Him from the beginning, but what they don’t realize is that He is also speaking of events that they will be witness to in future days—His Resurrection. The Comforter will enable them and empower them to stand firm under the persecution they will encounter once they begin to proclaim the risen Savior, and as the Holy Spirit reveals to them just why Jesus had to die upon that cross.

The work of the Holy Spirit is evident throughout biblical history, but what is about to happen here is a monumental shift in God’s plan for man. Redemption is close at hand, the Kingdom of God is about to be fulfilled in Christ, and the Holy Spirit will be coming in obedience with new power to glorify the Father and the Son in the building of the Church. Without this power, the followers of Christ would have been completely helpless to continue what He started, because their words and deeds alone could never have convicted people of sin. Only the Spirit could draw the heart of man to God and convince him that he had sinned against his Creator.

Consider these words of Paul, the apostle, from 1 Corinthians 2 (The Message):

“You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.

   I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God's power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.

   We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it's not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don't find it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven't a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn't have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That's why we have this Scripture text: 

   

No one's ever seen or heard anything like this, 
   

Never so much as imagined anything quite like it— 
   

What God has arranged for those who love him.


But you've seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.

    The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he's thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.

   The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can't receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit.”

I don’t know about you, but this humbles me beyond what I can hardly bear. When I think of how often I block the Spirit’s work—my rebellion, my idols—and in so doing hurt my witness for Christ, I am ashamed. I am so thankful for my Father who cared enough for me to send my Savior who died that I might be free from this yoke of slavery, and who has given me the gift of the Advocate who intercedes on my behalf and who constantly convicts me of areas in which I need to plaster myself to the Cross of Christ.

I thank You, Father, for the gift of your Spirit, who

• Comforts, helps, advocates
• Convicts of sin, brings to repentance
• Equips and enables
• Testifies about Christ through changed lives

Without your design, we would be hopeless and helpless. Equip us daily to follow You. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, Amen.